The nightmare

It was a peaceful winter night. The city wrapped in the blanket of mist had been sleeping quietly. The city that rarely gets to enjoy temperature below 25°C had been making the most of its crisp winter nights. The slumber of the city was suddenly broken by a strange occurrence.

Rahul was woken up by a shrieking scream. Rahul jolted and sat up on his bed. He was not sure if he heard the scream in his dream or in reality. He checked the time on a clock on the nightstand. The clock indicated 3:18 AM. "Who would scream this late? Maybe I was dreaming," Rahul thought to himself.

Rahul placed the clock back at its place. He decided to go back to sleep. But then he heard a scream. It was just the same as he had heard before. He knew it was real, he had not been dreaming.

Then the scream was heard again. This time it was louder and closer. As if it had been coming from the street. Rahul got up from the bed and reached the nearby window. "What if someone was attacked by an animal and needed help? Maybe someone is injured. Maybe someone is in trouble. Or maybe just a deranged person walking across the street," thoughts crowded his mind. There was only one way to find out.

Rahul stood near the window. He peered through the window. He saw the quiet street, with a few stay cats and dogs roaming around. Suddenly all animals stopped and looked at the direction of the city center. Dogs growled. Cats arched their backs. The animals froze at their spots for a few seconds. The scream was heard again. After hearing the scream, the animals sprinted. They found shelters away from the street. Now the street was empty. There was no sign of life. The flickering street lights had created an atmosphere which looked straight out of Stephen King's novels.

Rahul witnessed the events from his window. Each second was adding more layers of mystery to the events. He was unable to understand what had been happening around him. The reaction of the animals was evident enough to decipher that whatever had been happening was neither safe nor usual. Still Rahul stayed. He was concerned for the screaming person. Rahul wanted to be prepared if anybody needed help.

The street that was engulfed in darkness started to get illuminated. Rahul saw lanterns. The fog was not allowing him to have a clear view. It looked like a group of people had been walking with lanterns in their hands. Rahul smiled at himself and laughed at animal's reactions. Animals of the city had only seen modern inventions that they got scared of lanterns. But the question still remained, who had been screaming.

The crowd had been growing stronger in numbers. Now Rahul saw that a group of people wearing red robes had been carrying lanterns in their hands. Completely covered in robes, Rahul was unable to see their faces. They had been walking in an almost choreographed manner - rhythmic and systematic. Then they suddenly stopped.

Rahul was petrified at the sight. Something was vaguely unsettling about the group. He could not point out what had been scary. Rahul tried to move away from the window but his legs were not following the orders of his brain. Rahul felt helpless.

With a sudden jolt, Rahul sat up. He was still on his bed. "It was a nightmare after all," he said to himself. He took a sip of water and checked the time. It was 3:15 AM.

Then he heard the scream - same same shrieking scream.